Bash and Whacker
by Unfocused and Confused
Summary: Stephen and his buddy, Thomas are outcasts. Catherine is breaking the mold. Set MANY years after the original Ranger's Apprentice saga, this tells about the simplest fighters, knights, and their journeys. Rated T just to be safe. OCs are main characters here.
1. Stephen: The Choosing

**Woohoo, another story! Let's begin, but on the exact opposite of the Rangers.**

**I know lots of you hate short chapters, but I couldn't seem to add more to this.**

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**EDIT: The story adds a beta at chapter 4, so chappies get longer.**

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**STEPHEN**

** I WAS NEVER A WELL-LIKED KID IN THE WARD.** Just because my father was a exiled baron doesn't mean I'm rich, or that I'm spoiled. None of my other wardmates understood that really. Well, all of them except for Thomas. He's pretty much my only friend here. Of course, he for some reason, was an outcast like me, but he didn't do anything to make them hate him.

Then again, neither did I, but people will be people, no matter how much you try to change them. So, down with social standings, here are what we look like. I'm tall, with blond hair and startling blue eyes. I have some developed muscles, but it's not like we can lift weights or anything. Thomas, on the other hand, is short, and a little creepy. With brown hair and dark brown eyes, he continually hides in the shadows to avoid their taunts. If he was angry enough, he looked you in the eyes with a burning hatred that made people flinch.

Enough about that. For some reason, our year group was unusually large, coupled with the fact that they all avoided us or bullied us, we never really got to know their names. So it went over the past 10 years, me and Thomas getting bullied repeatedly. I had a love/hate relationship with Choosing Day, because I might get away from some tormentors, but I lose my only friend.

The Baron, Rodney, had the same secretary as my father, Arald. He yelled all his life, and didn't seem to stop. Even more worse, Rodney yelled along with him, though that was expected from a former Battlemaster. Today, the current Craftmasters here were Sir Karel, the new Battlemaster, Ranger Will, who we all kind of ran away from, Lady Alyss, Ranger Will's wife, George Carter, the Scribemaster, and Master Jenny, the castle's cook.

So, we went to the Courtyard, which was closed off to the public, and the event was going to take place. Many cheap and insubstantial wooden chairs were placed around the courtyard. I finally decided to count, and noted that there were more wards than chairs. It seemed just like a Baron, to indulge in luxuries, and leave little to the common folk. like us.

I was at the head of the line, being somewhat taller than the others, while Thomas was at the end. I loathed this moment, where we could be estranged for life. "Step forward, state your name, and your requested school." I reluctantly stepped forward. "Stephen Arald, Battleschool sir." I called out. Baron Rodney then looked at his friend, and asked, "Battlemaster?" Sir Karel looked me up and down, then said, "He reminds me of his father, at least when he was younger." I hated being associated with my father. He left my mother because I was an illegitimate child, then when she died, he insulted the king, and got banished, like Halt, the legendary ranger.

After a dramatic pause, then an awkward silence, he finally said, "I'll take him." I smiled, then sat down in one of the many chairs in the room. The rest of the ceremony went by faster than a blink of the eye, at least until Thomas showed up. Again, Martin called out, "Step up, state your name, and your requested school." Thomas stepped up, and I expected him to pick the Horseschool, so we could be together. Instead, he nervously said, "Thomas Crosby, and my school... I don't know."

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Fun Facts

One of the most time consuming things was creating a name for Stephen's buddy, Thomas.

I originally considered Thomas Paine, but I decided against it, for fear of some history nerd ranting about using a historical figure in a fictional story.

I settled with Crosby because well, Cosby (Bill) + an R for Ranger should work,


	2. Thomas: Messing up and Mad Stalkers

**Shout out to Writer-born-from-Shadows, who has been with most of the chapters I've written, along with writing a helpful and encouraging review every time.**

**Another shout out to DriveItLikeYouStoleIt007, for my first ever favorite.**

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**THOMAS**

**I AM JUST NOW REALIZING WHAT A MAJOR MISTAKE I JUST MADE.** Of course, truth be told, I didn't have much time to think about it, what with protecting Stephen and getting bullied. Okay, maybe Stephen was protecting me, but that's not the point. The point right now is the Choosing, which had to get the world record for the longest dramatic pause.

"Battlemaster?" Baron Rodney spoke quietly, as if not wanting to live in the moment. Sir Karel looked me up and down, just as he did with Stephen about an hour ago. This time was different though, and he shook his head sadly. "He's a good boy my lord, but he's just too small," Karel had explained.

"Horsemaster?" The Baron was getting a little morose, as he knew I would probably be sent off onto a farm, with years added onto my mistreatment. Again, the Craftmaster looked me up and down, and like Karel, shook his head. Again, like Karel, he said I was too small. Again, I was rejected.

"Will anyone take this fit young boy, even if he's a little on the small side?" There again, a dramatic pause. I turned away grimly, noting that I had seen this coming since the beginning of the year. Silently, my face formed into a hard glare. It's always been like this, ever since I accidentally stepped on a kid's foot when I was four. So, I would be left alone, to be a farmer, away from society.

Of course, that could be positive, because at least I would get an assurance of pay, while all the other people, err, I mean apprentices, could be kicked out of their craft, and be left with no job, and no way to feed or support themselves.

Meanwhile, the Diplomat, Alyss, was elbowing her husband. After leaning down and whispering to her rather short partner, the Ranger slowly nodded and stepped forward, and began to speak, "This is starting to remind me of my own Choosing. I'll take the boy, my lord." The Baron nodded eagerly, as he didn't want to send another unlucky sap to a life in the fields.

Yippee, away from a peaceful life in the fields, and instead, years with one of the creepiest people in the fief. No, not even the fief now that I think of it. The scariest in the world, who me and Stephen spent years avoiding. Another unlucky sap, this time though, put with a mad stalker who shoots people.

Of course, at the end of the presentation, the Craftmasters went to speak with their new apprentices. Most had at least six, while I was alone, speaking the the shadiest one of them alone. He said, "Alright Thoma-" A sudden pause. The look on his face. Why? Because it's not hatred, or disgust. It's a look of disbelief, and familiarity.

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**I called the Rangers "mad stalker who shoots people," for a reason. I'm not hating on them, just making a point about common beliefs.**


	3. Catherine: First Impressions

**Woohoo, quick updates. I hope you like the addition of a new character I thought up.**

**I love the reviews I've been getting. They really encourage me to write more.**

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**CATHERINE**

** MY FATHER HAS A NEW APPRENTICE TODAY**. Well, that was a silly introduction, wasn't it? My name is Catherine, daughter of Will and Alyss Treaty. Oh boy, you think that I'm either some prissy girl with fancy words, or a tomboy who wants to be a Ranger. Well, you're wrong. I have no intention to do either.

The next year, when I turn 15, my father will turn me over to Gilan, but not to train in sneaking. I'm going to learn to use a sword, and become the best swordswoman out there. Once I've been deemed skilled enough, King Horace himself will be teaching me. After that though, I'm not sure what I'll do. Maybe they'll put me in their international response team or something.

Enough about my personality though, it would be a bit confusing to hear about me but have no idea what I look like, right? I have dirty blond hair, and like my mother, I'm tall. I'm similar to her in a lot of ways, like our eye color, steel grey. Unlike my mother though, I'm way more athletic than she was, but she's happy with me like that. I also happen to be quite curious, so get used to me asking questions any time I can.

So, the new boy seems kind of frightened about the Ranger way of life. I don't understand how, really. It seems kind of home-like, which is something that would've been okay with, if I was a boy. If I was a boy, I might've had the strength to consistently draw a bow. But enough about me moaning and groaning about not being a Ranger, let's get back to what happened.

I was in the cabin when I first saw him, so being like myself, I stuck out my hand as I called out to him. "Hello! My name is Catherine, wha-" I stopped, as the boy looked at me with gorgeous deep brown eyes, with his windblown tousled hair, and he smiled shyly, as he spoke. "Hello Catherine," He had said. He spoke smoothly but like earlier, reserved, as he continued, "My name is Thomas, it's good to meet you."

My heart was racing, and I stood there, with my mouth hanging open like a fool. He seemed nice, too good to be true. My dad looked at me strangely before continuing on with his tour of the cabin. After standing still for what feels like a year, I gasp. Was I, the girl who had just denied being a prissy girl, falling in love?

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**This chapter has a different feel to it than most of the other chapters I've written. One of my sore spots on fanfiction on this site is that people keep inventing female Rangers. Guys, John Flanagan mentions several times that the girls just lack most of the strength required to draw a bow. Regular guys in the story can't do it as fast as Rangers. I don't mean to offend though, because I have read some pretty good female ranger fics. It would make sense if they trained since they were like, six or something.**

**Anyhoo, Character Creation fun facts**

**This has to be record time for me in creating a character name.**

**She was originally going to be a tomboy like figure, but ended up in denial. **

**I made her act somewhat stuck up in my opinion because I didn't want a Mary Sue on my hands.**

**This has to be one of my only characters created without outside influence.**

**Where Thomas sees horror, Catherine sees familiar sights. She's been raised by a Ranger, so she's kind of accustomed to the whole scheme of things.**


	4. Thomas & Stephen: On First Day of School

**FarmersDaughter: I updated the section in the previous chapter where I ranted about female rangers. It makes a little more sense now.**

**This story has a beta now! Savannah Silverstone, our wonderful beta, will be working with me to create longer chappies, along with developing plot. Unfortunately, chapters won't have a set schedule now.**

**This chapter is a little different from the others. It has both Thomas and Stephen's POVs. Enjoy your reading.**

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**THOMAS**

**THE CABIN I'M STAYING IN IS PRETTY NICE.** The tour was fine too. Ranger Treaty seems to be one of the kindest people out there. I was a bit disappointed when he showed me the weapons Rangers use.

_What happens if the bad guys get close to us?_ I phrased the question carefully, then asked, "Sir, what happens if whoever attacks me gets close?"

Will then turned and looked me in the eye. "My, my, I was afraid you wouldn't say anything today. Now, first off, away with that 'sir' nonsense. My name is Will. You and I are both Rangers, and remember, Rangers are only answerable to the king."

"But sir-"I then stuttered before getting cut off. Will looked amused. He began to speak, "What did I say about the word 'sir'? Now, to answer your question, we use the double knife defense. But that's for later. Come on, we still have the rest of the cabin to show you."

The tour went on smoothly for the next few minutes, until we were touring the kitchen, when a girl behind me began, "Hello, my name is Catherine, wha-," then she stops mid-sentence. She looked about fifteen, with blond hair and steel grey eyes. I look at her, smile, though a bit reserved, and say, "Hello Catherine, my name is Thomas. Nice to meet you." That comes out more fluidly than most things I say. Catherine stands there, mouth ajar, and Ranger Tre- uh, I mean Will gives her an odd look, then we resumed the tour.

I tap his shoulder and ask, "Rang-" then stop my self, and repeat my question, "Will, who was that?" He gives me the same look he did with Catherine, and then answers, "That was Catherine, my daughter. She's fourteen."

"Fourteen?" I ask, "She's a little tall for her age." Will then chuckles, "Thank the lord that she didn't inherit my height."

"So, Will, what will I do here exactly?" I managed to ask

Will raised an eyebrow, and replied, "You're going to do the chores around here, of course."

My jaw dropped. "Chores? How do Rangers, I mean we, learn our skills by doing chores?" I asked fearfully.

Will chuckled again, and said, "I'm joking Tom. I can call you Tom, right?" I reply, "Please, call me Thomas. It's what I'm used to." Will then continues, "Well, I'm not totally lying. We don't have servants here, so we do our own work, and by we, I mean you. You will train with your weapons sooner or later."

That day, I cleaned the cutlery, cleaned the rugs, added rustproof oil to the blades, mopped the floors, tidied up the stables, helped Will's daughter with the laundry, threw away garbage, and set snares in the forests. As I began my tedious chores, I heard Will laugh to himself. "I can see what Halt meant when he said having apprentices are fun."

Where is Halt anyways? Now that I'm a Ranger, he's bound to let me watch him wrestle a bear, but how does a two meter tall man hide in shadows?

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**STEPHEN**

**WHILE THOMAS MET GIRLS, I HAD THE WORKOUT OF A LIFETIME.** First, they made us do one hundred push ups, then after a rest break of five minutes, we ran ten miles. I was somewhere in the middle of the group, while most of the wards were around the back. Some of the trainees broke down after the first few miles. I'm proud to say that I don't think I'll be leaving this place anytime soon, unlike them.

My favorite practices of the day were strategy planning, where they presented us with tactical situations, and we were given a day to act. Along the lines of favorites, the best place in the school has to be in the northwest corner of the second floor, where you can see the gargoyles. They remind me eerily of Thomas, hiding on the rooftops, while I had to make do in bushes and behind trees.

I don't get bullied as much here, since they have a strict no bullying rule, and the aura of being Baron Arald's son makes me a hero to these people. Dad had apparently left an everlasting mark on these people. He left them with an assurance that their children would be looked after, in the event of their deaths. Quite sad really, he takes care of other people's kids, but not his own.

Of course, some kids still tease me, but since the Battleschool thinned out the bullies' ranks, I recognize some of them now. The three main ones are Robert, Arthur, and Henry. They taunt me by calling me a "spoiled, rich, ward brat so ugly he made the other Baron run away." I don't let them know it, but it really bothers me.

But then, they wouldn't stand out if they didn't do other things now, right? When we run miles, like I said earlier, I'm around the middle of the group. Unfortunately, so is Robert. He shoves me when nobody is looking, and I run into a bunch of people. If people aren't there to break my fall, then I tumble. Today, he shoved me off the hill we were on.

Henry is a prankster, although luckily for me, I'm not his only victim. He somehow got the words in the main hall that usually say, "REDMONT BATTLESCHOOL," to change to "BREADMOUTH FATTIEPOOL." That seemed ridiculous to me, but Hawken in particular took it very seriously. Karel refused to take action until he has concrete evidence, but we all know it was Henry.

Arthur is the worst. He has a posse that consists of tough guys. They also coincedentally lift rocks to strengthen their muscles. They use that as an excuse to lug those rocks around, to chuck at me. So far, I have a collection of 20 cuts, 27 bruises, and 3 scars. Ouch indeed.

The drill instructors are Hawken, Alexander, and Julius. They happened to be the top students in their year, and expressed feelings at wanting to be back here, so they got their wish granted. The man who times us on our runs apparently has no name, so we take to calling him Sir Marathon, since he runs with ALL the year groups on their daily runs, making sure no foul play is comitted.

Overall, the teachers seem okay, but they don't enforce all the rules. That's fine with me though. All the bullies are really doing is preparing me for the battlefield, where the enemy is not bound by rules, or instructors, and certainly not conscience. I will make it through all five years of training though, and when I come out, I'll have a reputation that will rival the Oakleaf Knight's.

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**This has to be an all-time record for words in a chapter by me. The POVs will switch around with every chapter, so expect to hear from Catherine next.**


	5. Catherine: Mornings, Practice, and Bacon

__**Farmer's Daughter, that honestly was not my intention. Will just looks up to Halt in my mind. Besides, Halt is scarier than Will. Wayyyy scarier.**

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_**OHMYGOSHTHOMASHA- I'M DOING IT AGAIN AREN'T I?**_

Anyways, Thomas made a nickname for me."Cath." What's wrong with Catherine? Is it just too much to say or something? Well, it is sort of a mouthful. Anyways, we've been living in the cabin together for a week now. Thomas, obviously takes the apprentice bedroom, Mom and Dad sleep in their bedroom, and I? Well, a few years back, Gilan (the Corps Commandant after Crowley) told Dad that he'd have to have an apprentice soon. He said he didn't want to have a weak bond with his apprentice and at the same time he didn't want to leave me in the dust. In the end, he just decided to have another room built.

My bedroom is pretty simplistic, with some hair supplies (a girl's gotta have some) and decorations, like the crazy drawing of Gilan my dad drew. In the corner, stowed away is a flute I've had since I was seven.

Today marked the second day of living under the same roof as Thomas. I woke up to a knock on the door.

I hurried to make myself look as decent as possible then as soon as I was finally satisfied (not happy, satisfied) with how I looked, I called to the person who knocked to come in.

It was Thomas who peeked his head in, and said, "Will made breakfast."

I hadn't fully woken up yet and was still getting used to my surroundings so I decided to stall. "What is it?"

He popped his head back out, yelled something, then peeked back in. "**The Bacon**, Eggs, an-" He got no further.

_It was bacon._ It didn't take long for that one detail to register in my it did, I hurried out of the bed and threw the door open. Thomas stumbled, not understanding the awesomeness of bacon. Now, you may be thinking, I understand it's bacon, but you snap awake and throw the door open on your crush?

I thought it was justified since the bacon Dad makes is no ordinary bacon. It goes by the name, **The Bacon**. It's made from wild boar meat prepared at least two hours beforehand, simmered in fat, served with juice, coffee and fruit, then seasoned by Aunt Jenny. Yes, Jenny, master chef, former student of Master Chubb, and regarded to be the best chef in the land.

I started to eat (more like destroy) the bacon when I got there .It was only a few seconds later when I felt the smack of a ladle on my head. It was Jenny.

"What?" I asked, confused, because usually, she loves seeing her creations eaten.

She started to scold me, "Catherine Treaty, would you really devour ALL**The Bacon** before your friend has tried some?" I felt guilty as the final words were said.

Unnoticed by all of them except for me, Dad took another piece and ate it.

Thomas then asked, "What's the big deal with **The Bacon**?" A gasp was evoked from all but Jenny and Thomas.

I offered one of the pieces from my plate to the disconcerted apprentice. "Cram this into your mouth, and you'll understand. Actually, savor it bite by bite if you want the heaven to last longer."

Thomas's eyes widened as he took the first bite of the most amazing thing in the history of man. "This-this-," was all he managed to say before he continued to bite off chunk after chunk of the delectable meat.

"Yes, it is amazing, now take a seat so I can resume devouring this ."I replied as I raised the next chunk of bacon waiting to be eaten to my mouth. It took only five more minutes for us to finish. Even Mom, who was usually calm, collected, and elegant, was eating crazily, like a wolverine. Best. Morning. Ever.

I then got up and hugged Aunt Jenny, "Thank you so much." I practically cried into her shoulder.

Aunt Jenny grinned ."It was no problem, Will wanted a way to welcome Thomas into the family." She replied so humbly it was as if she wasn't the best cook in Araluen.

The morning eventually turned into afternoon as I practiced calligraphy with Mom.

It was in the afternoon when Dad called me out to the front for some ambiguous reason.

"Coming Dad!" I answered as I skipped out to the front. There, he was holding what seemed to be my wooden practice saber.

"Take it," he said. "And practice with Thomas." I grabbed it eagerly, and walk over to where the apprentice was standing with two wooden daggers in hand which he would probably train with until he is good enough for the real thing.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked cautiously, since I've been practicing since I was twelve. He shot me a grin and replied. "Go ahead Cath."

I dashed forward, and stopped when I was about a meter away from Thomas. I paused, and planned on the best way to attack the apprentice in front of me. After a pause that probably lasted a second, I decided on an overhead, and swung my blade murderously towards him. I closed my eyes, wondering what his face would look like after it hits, but I'm jerked forward as it suddenly stopped. Thomas, with a stupid grin on his face, had his two lades crossed in a double knife defense. Frustrated, I tried a lunge, and his saxe tossed it away. Again I tried, but that second time, I feinted a side cut, pulled it back at the last second and lunged again .The battle ended with my wooden saber on his torso.

"That's my girl!" Dad cheered proudly. I smirked at the boy who was knocked down by my jab, and walked away. Before I got back to the cabin though, a hand grabbed my foot, and my face slammed to the ground.

"Ow…" I groan as I pull myself up to sitting position. "What was that for?!" I cry out, glaring daggers at the culprit.

Thomas was obviously keeping laughter in as he held out his hand and helped me up . I then heard Dad say, "That was exciting. You've learned your lessons, right kids?"

I looked at him and frowned "Lesson? Is that for trying to eat all **The Bacon**?"

He shook his head in reply, and then looked at his apprentice. "Thomas, have you learned _your_ lesson?"

Thomas nodded eagerly. "Don't focus on one thing entirely."

_So __**THAT**__ was what he means by lesson._ "I get it now, but I don't." I said as I lowered my eyes to the ground.

Dad raised his eyebrows at me. "What?" He asked.

I repeated myself, but much clearer than before, stating "I understand what kind of lesson you mean, but I don't know what the lesson is."

"Well, the lesson for today was 'Never turn your back towards the enemy." He explained then turned to the cabin. "Let's call it a day kids."

Later that evening, Dad got up during dinner, and told us to wait one minute. He walked towards his room, and after that, to mine. As he was coming back to the dinner table, I could see that he had his lute, I mean mandola, and my flute in his hands.

He looked to me and smiled. "Still remember Old Joe Smoke?"

I grinned eagerly in return. "Of course I do. Give that to me."

I took my flute, and we played a duet that was Old Joe Smoke but at the same time, it wasn't. It sounded just like Old Joe Smoke, but every time the words, "Old Joe Smoke" were supposed to appear, he instead sang, "Graybeard Halt."

We had a great time .A few minutes we heard a knock on the door, and Mom went to get it.

The sound of light conversation could be heard and when mom came back, she had a big smile on her face. That was when I noticed the other man following her as she entered the room.

He stepped towards us, his glare directed at Dad.

"Will, I thought I told you never to play that song again."

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**Guess who?**

**Alyss was kinda OOC to show the amazingness of ****The Bacon****. Yes, ****The Bacon**** MUST be capitalized, bolded, and underlined when used.**


	6. Thomas: What? Too Beautiful, and Ponies

**Thanks to our wonderful beta for being done with editing this chapter so quickly.**

**I have not even STARTED Chapter 7 before posting this, so it'll be a while.**

**As to who the man is... GILAN! Okay, not really. We all know who he is.**

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**THOMAS**

**THE ROOM WAS SILENCED BY THE STRANGE MAN'S APPEARANCE.** Will looked as expressionless as ever. Lady Alyss seemed to have a hard time with keeping a smile contained. Cath looked a little confused at first, then joy broke out on her face.

_Who is this man, who can silence a Ranger, Diplomat, and their daughter in their own house?_

The silence was broken as Will stepped forward with his arms outstretched. The man accepted the embrace, and he hugged Lady Alyss and Catherine in turn. Catherine jumped up and yelled, "Grandpa Halt!"

_Halt? The Halt? Two-meter tall Halt who can wrestle bears and rout an army on his own? I must be missing something here_.

"To answer your question, yes, I am that Halt," he said, without even looking at me. My mouth drops. Jaw hits the floor.

Will grinned and said, "I never got how you did that." He looked at me and continued. "Thomas, this is my former master and teacher, Halt." He turned back to Halt. "Halt, I assume you already know who he is?"

"Yes Will, your letters come in every minute. Gilan sent me here to shush you. The pigeons are getting overworked." Halt replied irritably.

Then went another round of music playing, fun, and general happiness. In the merriment of all of it, Halt leaned over and whispered to me "Catherine has eyes for you. Mess with her heart, and I will tear yours out, then feed it to the crows."

_What is that supposed to mea- Oh . So Cath likes me, and if I break her heart, Halt will kill me. And Will too, I guess. _My head was spinning. _Should I ask her about it? If I don't ask her, then I will never know, but if I do, and Halt was wrong, our friendship will never be the same._

Confused, I subtly closed in on Lady Alyss through all the celebration. "Lady Al-"

Before I could say more, she cut me off. "Enough with 'Lady,' Thomas! Call me Alyss," the Diplomat told me sternly.

"Okay..." I nodded embarrassed. "Halt said that Catherine likes me. What do I do? If I don't ask, I'll never know, but if I do, and Halt is wrong, we might not be friends anymore."

Alyss sighed and answered calmly, "Thomas, there are a few things you need to learn before really becoming a Ranger. One of the first things: Halt is almost always right. If he doubted himself at all, and thought that it wasn't true, he wouldn't have confronted you about it." _Well, that sure was useful_. "Besides," she added, "I read her diary. It's almost all about you."

Nodding gratefully at Alyss' words, I walk towards Will during one of his breaks. "Will?" I inquired carefully.

He made a gesture to wait as he finished swallowing his food. "Yes?" He asked as soon as he was sure his food was already in his stomach.

"Halt said that Catherine likes me-" I said softly.

At that part, I was interrupted, not for the first time.

"Oh. I get it now. Okay go on," Will said eagerly.

I continued reluctantly, "Alyss agrees with him. Halt also said he'd feed my heart to the crows if I broke her heart."

Will nodded, and gestured for me to finish.

"The thing is though, what if both Alyss and Halt are wrong and I ask her? It wouldn't be the same after that."

Will, after completely finishing his food, told me, "Well, if you ever decide on having a relationship with her, I'm okay with it, since you came and asked me first, and you seem like a nice enough fellow."

I smiled with thanks and went to finish my food.

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_The next few days are going to be awkward, no doubt about it._

In reality they, were not so awkward after all. Will and I went tracking, to see if I really was paying attention to his lessons.

Finding some tracks off the side of a trail, I proudly announced, "Tracks."

The senior Ranger raised an eyebrow, reminding me of another lesson he taught me. I peered down again, seeing three pairs of tracks. Two, seemed to be deer, one of which was injured and limping. The other seemed to be a man's.

I told Will triumphantly, "Two deer, one is injured, and a man, a hunter probably." He looked down, to check if I was right, then nodded.

"Poachers, with an 'S,' mind you." He corrected.

"Poaching?" I frowned, thinking. "Isn't hunting legal here?" I asked

Will shook his head. "No, it is not. This is the Baron's personal hunting grounds, and it doesn't look like metal boots."

The Ranger gestured for me to follow, then began following the tracks. It was almost sunset when we found a camp where two gruff men were conversing lightheartedly.

"Hah, we be huntin' right under the Baron's nose," said one with a curly beard and a handlebar mustache.

"Ain't nobody able to do nuthin' to stop us," the other agreed.

Will looked at me, then motioned for me to take care of it. Continuing along to the camp I skirted around it until I faced the men, and stood, my back to a tree. I retrieved an arrow from my quiver, pulled out my bow, then stepped forward, shot an arrow right between them, and shouted, "King's Ranger, take a step towards the weapons and add an arrow to your collection of body parts.

"Ranger? Billy, we've got to run!" The hairy one seemed especially panicked.

"Relax, it's just a brat," the other man, who I assume was Billy, assured. Beardo took a closer look at me and remarked, "You're right!" They both took a menacing step towards their knives.

I needed no further prompting, I drew my bow back and aimed for the chest, before Will yelled, "Left calf!" Quickly adjusting my aim, I shot Monsieur Mustache in the leg, and the man consequently howled.

"Pick up that knife, and my next arrow won't be so generous," I threatened.

Will stepped out and patted my back, "Good work," he said. "So, what do we do now?" I prompted. I knew that taking care of the criminals afterwards was also the duty of a ranger.

Will looked at me, and spoke loud enough for the men to hear, "I don't know. We could hang them, or we could even give them to Skandia!"

Billy whimpered, "No! Not Skandia! I'm too beautiful to be abused!"

Will then continued, "Or, we could send them to the Baron." I nodded my head .That ended up our course of action.

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After that incident, Will and I traveled to a man named Old Bob. There, he had stables where, Will told me, Ranger horses came from.

My master called out cheerfully to a very old man "Hullo Old Bob!"

The old man responded, "Good to see yuh Ranger Treaty! Who's this now?" He asked, looking pointedly at me.

Will answered, "This is Thomas, my new apprentice. He's going to receive his horse today."

I greeted, "Hello!" I'm not usually this open, but he just looked like one of the friendliest person around.

"Wun' to see your new horse young Thomas?" He offered, pointing inside.

I nodded, and we walked over to an enclosed area. There, two ponies grazed. One seemed slightly older than the other, and had a grayish coat. The other had a deep black coat, and looked rather blissful, and was skipping around.

"This 'ere's Midnight. He'll be your horse," Old Bob said.

I ran to the horse. "He's amazing! Can I ride him?"

Will and Old Bob shared a look, then Will raised one eyebrow and answered, "If you think that's a good idea, go ahead."

I noticed that he didn't have a saddle, so I pointed it out, and Old Bob retreated to the recesses of his cabin. He emerged a few minutes later, carrying a leather saddle, and handed it to me. I stared at him dumbly.

"Put the saddle on the horse." Will said as if it was the easiest thing in the world. _Probably to him._

I reluctantly replied, "It's just that, I don't know how."

The next few minutes were spent teaching me how to saddle a horse. After a few tries, I got the hang of it, then I hopped on.

"Let's ride!"

Only a few moments after that, I went flying.

"What just happened?" I asked as I pushed myself off the floor.

Old Bob gave a hearty laugh. "Yuh see Thomas, Ranger horses buck off anyone who doesn't tell them the passcode. 'At way, they're never stolen."

"Okay," I said perplexed, and asked again, "so what's the passcode?"

Old Bob looked at me, seemed to think, then said, "How are you?"

"How are you?" I repeated.

Old Bob chuckled, and replied, "Not to me, to the horse!"

Then to Will, he said, "Never gets old, does it?"

Will happily replied, "Never does!"

Feeling odd, I whispered to Midnight, "How are you?" The horse nickered in reply, and I looked back at the two men. Will nodded and I yet again, hopped on. This time though, I wasn't launched off.

Will got on the other horse, and told me. "These horses are specially trained to move based on how you tap them with your heel. They will also stomp when you get off, to simulate a load on them, so listeners and trackers will be fooled into thinking you're still on. Try changing gaits now."

I did, and Midnight went off at a steady walk. Old Bob opened the gate leading to the enclosure, so I tapped my heels again, and he started a steady canter. Will, right behind me, stated, "This is the horse's best walk. They can keep this up for hours. See if you can handle galloping now."

Tapping my heels once more, the black horse rocketed off, and I nearly fell. I frantically tapped my heels again, and he slowed.

"I'm going to have to get used to that," I muttered.

The rest of my time in Old Bob's stables was used to teach me how to care for my horse. While there I was able to learn the basics of feeding (Not too many apples!) and grooming.

The next day, we trotted home, with our horses. Through the feeling of the horse cantering under me, I realized something and groaned when I thought of how much practice that was going to need.

_I had to learn to shoot while riding him._

* * *

**It always puzzled me about the Rangers shooting while riding on horseback. The book never mentions it in detail, just vague references.**

* * *

**Beta Notes**

**Didn't change too much here! Nice chapter ! The characters were mostly in character. I just changed some dialogue, use of words and grammar.**


	7. Stephen: Games and Battles

**Hey guys! I need reviews! I might've been clutching my knees shivering in a corner until I realized some people if it's just an update soon!**

**Thanks to our beta, who still edits this, even though she had a weekend of games.**

* * *

**STEPHEN**

**LET THE GAMES BEGIN!** Drillmaster Hawken devised tournaments for us to duel in. It was divided into three teams groups that were first year, second year, and third year. We used our drill swords dipped in paint to show hits. He had said, "It's a nifty trick I learned from a friend who watched the Toscan legions train. If you get hit, you lose your match."

Our compulsory weapons for the fight were our hickory drill swords, and shields. Everything else, like our armor was our choice. I chose to wear my stiff leather boots, some wool trousers, hardened leather chest armor, and some arm thingies called "bow bracers."

My first match was against, what do you know, Harold. We drew our swords, and waited for the elated, "BEGIN," from Drillmaster Hawken.

He yells it, then we shuffled forward. My sword rose slightly, then as my foe raised his shield to block an overhead cut, I lunged at him. He parried it with his sword.

"Good, good!" Hawken sounded like he was having the time of his life, watching the fight.

Harold then shuffled backwards, and I ran at him, then tried a side opponent stepped to the side and stuck out his foot. I fell, and as Harold sliced his sword at me, with two hands gripping the handle after dropping his shield, I rolled over, and kicked his shin.

The bully drops over and clutches his shin, and I take that opportunity to get up. I swung my sword at my opponent. He was able to dodge it but ended up dropping his sword as he did it.

I bashed my shield against the top of his head, and he crumpled to the ground. I look over him, a shadow passing over his head then I looked over to the crowd standing by. I raised my sword, and listened as they started to chant.

"Do it! Do it! Do it!"

I accepted the crowd's call, and sliced downward, brutally smacking the boy.

"And Stephen wins!"

Hawken was still excited. The crowd, loving every moment of it, screamed my name again and again as I walked calmly into the waiting area for the next match.

The progression of the people I knew was as follows:

Henry vs Some Guy, Henry wins.

Arthur vs Shortie, Arthur wins.

Sir Karel's son, Paul, vs Tall guy, Paul wins.

The next match was Henry against me. He looked rather panicked.

_Of course, he would be panicked. Anyone would be, against me._ I just raised my sword and he already flinched, and dropped his. He ran around the arena, screaming, until I caught up with him, and poked him. It took just a minute more to secure that victory.

The match after mine though, was really brutal. It was Arthur versus Paul. It started off rather evenly. Both Paul and Arthur were hacking at each other, and both were blocking every hack of the sword. It all changed though, when Arthur kicked Paul's changed everything.

The Battlemaster's son doubled over, shield over head in an automatic reaction. Arthur wasn't expecting this, so he put all his force into the stroke, and was dazed by the jarring crash of sword and shield. Paul, following up on that, walked slowly forward, until Arthur looked back.

It was seemingly over. Arthur tossed away his shield. Paul looked stunned. He stalked over towards Arthur, and gave a fierce side cut, but that's when, of course, the unexpected happened. Arthur stepped backwards, and Paul was sent reeling after meeting no resistance. As his foe was recovering, Arthur stabbed him, and it was all over after that.

"Arthur wins!" Hawken said, not changing in excitement or volume but the crowd was somewhat quieter than I remembered. One person yelled a halfhearted, "Yay Arthur!"

* * *

The next few matches were a daze. Both Arthur and me won all of our respective duels.

It didn't take too long for us to reach the championship round, and in about an hour, we would fight.

It was when I was getting ready for my fight did Paul confront me.

"The guy fights dirty. Play it safe," He warned.

I shrugged in reply. "I've been watching him for seven matches. Of course I know he plays dirty."

"That's good to know." Paul said then he walked away. I put on my last piece of gear (Hey, that stuff was uncomfortable. You'd take it off sooner or later too.) and prepared for battle.

"Begin!" _How can the man STILL not be out of breath?_ I waited for Arthur's next move, and he stepped forward. I moved to meet him, and he clanged his sword against my shield.

"Engarde!" Arthur yelled.

"Shut up," I snapped in reply then tried a backhand cut. It was barely blocked by his shield. I then kicked his shin, and as he doubled over, I hit him with my shield.

Consequently,he crumpled to the ground and I cut him on the head with my sword.

"Stephen wins! Again, Hawken didn't seem to be dropping in volume anytime soon. Arthur had gotten up to his feet, but now hung his head in shame. I raised my sword, and the crowd roared.

* * *

The next hour was filled with congratulations. After that, there was a banquet until it was almost sunset.

Paul patted me on the back. "I knew you had it in you." He exclaimed proudly.

As I reached my quarters, I then realize Paul slept on the bunk above me. _How had I not noticed that, _I thought.

A rough voice eventually rang out,interrupting my musings.

"BANDITS! THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!"

The entire battleschool snapped up. Jogging single file to the armory, we arrived there shortly after the second years. Sir Karel and Drillmaster Hawken were handing out swords, while Drillmasters Julius and Alexander were distributing shields.

Karel pulled me to the side.

Afraid, I asked, "What did I do?" He shook his head, and presented a scabbard. He unsheathed the sword inside, that had gold inlaid in it, and an emblem on the pommel. It was a pair of crossed swords. He explained, "This is yours. You won it in the tournament."

He turned around, searched a bit, and found a shield, with the same emblem.

The Battlemaster came up to me. "Go get your armor, and form up with the rest of your year group.

Shortly after I arrived to the stables, the rest showed up. We mounted some horses that were lent to us then charged into battle.

The battle was brutal. I killed at least five men. After killing the last one I had that day, I saw another man charge at me.

It was only when he was nearer that I noticed that he looked eerily familiar.

I searched through my memories, and it clicked. He was my father.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUN! Will Arald try to recruit Stephen? Would Stephen accept? Who is Hawken, and his friend who has been to Toscana? What happens next?**

**And why did I sneak a Hunger Games reference in there?**

* * *

**BETA NOTES**

**Notes:Great chapter so far! That was a good cliffhanger! I made sure to keep the consistency between present and past tense. Keep an eye on that. I changed some words since thay didn't sound natural. Also a few dialogue and grammatical error. Good chappie though!**


	8. Thomas: Love and War

**Shout outs to WICM for going the extra mile, and reviewing three chapters individually, even when she could've piled it all together.**

**Meanwhile, our beta, after a grueling road trip of many hours, has somehow finished editing this chapter. Is it just plain luck, or divine intervention? The world may never know(see what I did there?)**

**Two questions now.**

**1. How do you put coffee on top of something?**

**2. What does "hana" mean? Was that a "Haha" typo, or some secret acronym I'm supposed to know?**

* * *

**THOMAS**

**WE WERE EATING DINNER WHEN A VOICE INTERRUPTED US.**

"Bandits! They're everywhere!" The voice said.

Will and I got up, picked up our assorted weapons, and strung our bows. Halt actually got up too, and it took quite a bit of persuading to get him to stay.

"I'm going," Halt said.

Will shook his head. "No, you're staying here.

Halt then whined. "Whyyy? That's not fair!"

After a look that seemed mostly shocked, Will answered, "Alyss will make you a pot of coffee, but **ONLY** if you stay."

Halt nodded, his eyes still glowering over the recent unfairness, and went to Alyss. "Can you put extra honey in it pleeeease?"

The Diplomat glared at us, then stood up to make the coffee. (with the extra honey!)

I mounted Midnight, and listened as Will explained their plans.

"Stay with me, and follow my lead."

I nodded obediently, and we kicked our horses to a gradual gallop.

A group of bandits ran at me. This was not an "arrest the frightful poachers" case. They were really trying to kill me, and I knew I'd have to do the same or I'd be dead. I didn't though.

I drew my bow, but I didn't release. I didn't want to kill anyone. I _couldn't_ kill anyone. All those conflicting thoughts usurped my brain and before I knew it, I had lost the will to fight.

Of course, the other kind of Will, my mentor, shot all of them, killing them in the process. He cursed as he realized one had survived the barrage, and launched another arrow at the lone straggler. He then rode over to me.

"What happened there?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows in suspicion as he surveyed my surroundings

I lowered my head, embarrassed then mumbled. "I just don't want to kill anyone."

Will looked at me sympathetically. "You do have to kill though. They are threatening your home, livelihood and friends. Don't you want to protect that?"

I put up a half smile, thinking as we continued on.

Strange really how a few well chosen words can make someone weigh their options with a lot more scrutiny. From then on, I released volleys of arrows, but as luck would have it, I ran out of arrows as a marauder barreled towards me.

I dove off Midnight, kicking my feet clear of the stirrups. Drawing my throwing knife, I tossed it at the man, who crumpled onto the ground on impact. I walked over, retrieved the knife, and scanned the battlefield.

There! I saw Stephen conversing with an aging man. My friend nodded, and walked to me.

"Hey Steph! How have you been?" I shouted, without thinking.

He came closer, and seemed to draw breath, but instead of waving at me, smiling, talking to me or anything else I expected from my long time best friend, he unsheathed a knife, and stabbed me in the gut.

One of the oldest friends from the ward and my most trusted companion stabbed me in the gut.

I slowly sank down and clutched the handle of the blade. I was still taking in the reality of what happened. It was slowly sinking in as the pain from my stomach started to get stronger.

"Why?" I asked but it came out much weaker than I expected.

I looked up to his face expecting a look of betrayal but all I saw was confusion.

He lifted my cowl up and his eyes widened in surprise. "Thomas…Is that you?! I didn't know! Let me help! This looks bad!" He kneeled hurriedly on the ground and searched the wound carefully, running his hands lightly across my stomach.

Of course, things just HAD to happen then.

"Get away from him!" A female voice shrieked from out of nowhere.

I watched as a volley of arrows flew after my former friend as he fled towards his evil assistant or whoever that man was and they hopped on battlehorses. Before I knew it, they had already ridden away in a hurry.

I was fading in and out of conscious, while two familiar faces, one bearded, the other, female, looked over me. The woman, or rather, girl, was shaking me, and saying, "Thomas! Can you still hear me?! Is it that bad? He can't die… Right?"

The man looked over me solemnly. That was the last thing I saw before the warmth took over me and I closed my eyes.

* * *

The dream that followed was quite vivid. It showed of a past Araluen, a past before fiefs, a past before Rangers. It showed our history, how we became the nation that we are today. One most resounding thing was King Herbert, creating Modern Araluen, and consolidating the fiefs. Soon after that, memories of past generations of kings come upon me, and it seems unreal, and

Soon, however, my frolicking in the fields of sleep was interrupted_. Beware the one who calls you friend, my son. _The voice was masculine in form, and sounded kind, and caring.My son? Could this mean that dad was still alive? Who else could it be?

Wait. Beware the one who calls you friend. What. There are like, only three or four people I could call friend. Seriously ghost-dad?

_All will be revealed in a matter of time. _This time though, it was a feminine tone. Well, it looks like my parents are watching from the afterlife.

* * *

**THIRD PERSON**

Will and Catherine hurriedly but carefully placed the prone figure of Thomas over to his horse, and led him to the castle.

Thomas was groaning about music, which worried his mentor. Putting that issue aside for the time being, they continued on,

Will carried the boy up a few flights of stairs before reaching the infirmary.

Thomas ended up being treated much earlier than expected since he became a priority case, due to the fact that he was dying and the father-daughter duo were sneaking death glares at the healers.

After a few hours of hard surgery and treatments from the healers and worried sighs and glances from Will and Catherine, Thomas was brought back to the room and was sleeping peacefully compared to a while ago.

The next day, Will and Alyss visited Thomas. Catherine, on the other hand, had stayed overnight, and continued to watch over her friend.

Will whispered to Alyss, "You know, he kinda reminds me of..."

His wife looked back at him. "Do you think he might be..."

Being married for over ten years had made the couple much more aware of their other's personality thus they were almost always in sync with each other, both knowing what the other was thinking, and thinking it at the same time.

"We'll deal with the problem later." Will had said, and Alyss agreed. Thomas shouldn't know… _yet._

* * *

**THOMAS**

I woke up in a white room, on what seemed to be a bed. I could hear excited, and rather loud babbling from what seemed to be an old man, "Coffee, Coffee, I love my Coffee!"

"Where am I? What happened? Wait! The Wensley Village! Is it destroyed?" I call out as loud as I could at that moment but it sounded much softer than I hoped.

"Do you ever ask just one question, or does it have to be multiple choice with you?" A gruff voice said. "Will! He's alive! The village must be safe, if he is still alive." It continued with much more enthusiasm.

"Thomas! You're finally awake!" I looked to the other side of the bed to see Catherine heading to the bed. She hugged me, and sat beside me on the bed.

I blushed, awkwardly, but before I got to say anything, a man who I guessed was the healer went up to us.

"Hello, my name is Lucas. Right now, we are at the Redmont Infirmary, and before you ask, you've been out three days."

I sat up straight, or as straight as I could manage. "Three whole days?" I asked wearily.

Lucas smiled wryly. "You're lucky, that knife missed every vital organ."

I felt Catherine pat my hand as she smiled at me. "And I would've killed you if you'd died." She added.

I gave a light chuckle, and she, after a moment of hesitation, kissed my cheek.

"So Halt was right," I said.

She dropped her joking expression and frowned at me. "With what?"

"He just told me you liked me!" I protested

She looked at me meaningfully then said, " We can talk about that later cause right now we have another problem. Halt had gone senile."

"What?" I exclaimed in disbelief.

"You should see him." She helped me out of the bed.

I leaned heavily on her shoulder as she led me out to another part of the infirmary where a certain ranger was causing a ruckus.

"Add some honey, and what do you get? Coffee, Coffee, I love my Co-" The retired legend stops. "I see you haven't broken her heart yet." He says eerily.

Catherine, however, just punched his shoulder.

"Halt! Why do you talk sensibly now?" The young woman asked desperately.

Halt replied, "I've always been talking sense. It just gets serious when apprentice Rangers are around. I trust Will has given him his share of the housework?"

Cath laughed and said, "I wish."

"So, before I go into that blasted mindset again, have you heard the news?" Halt questioned us.

I stopped myself. "You said, 'that blasted mindset.' Does that mean you're **NOT** acting crazy on purpose?" I asked cautiously.

Halt snapped at us, "Not the point! My question was, 'Have you heard the news?'"

I looked at my friend, and she shrugged. "What news?" I asked.

"Well," The grizzled ranger started. "The King has gone missing."

* * *

**Haha! The ending of one cliffie leads to the beginning of a new one!**

**Is there a cure for Halt's mind? Will Stephen be faced with justice? And WHAT is up with Thomas that Will and Alyss were talking about?**

**Ten points to whoever answers a question correctly.**


	9. Will and Stephen: If you try

**This chapter was hard to write... for varying reasons.**

**I don't want to fill the top with replies to reviews... PM powers**

**Guest Reviews**

**FarmersDaughter:Crazy Halt... Just an experiment... As for the secret... End of story. Literally. Should be around the end of the story.**

* * *

**Stephen**

**I STABBED MY BEST FRIEND LESS THAN FIVE HOURS AGO.** Well, I didn't know it was him at the time. And I did try to help him! It's just that... Well, the Ranger chased me off afterwards...

I looked to Arald as we rode off west towards a port. Its name was Selsey.

_Since it was not officially part of Araluen,_ _we should be "fine" there._ He had told me earlier.

However, I still had my doubts. I had lived in Redmont my whole life and I learned there that due to some help the rangers gave them a while back, they were extremely loyal to Araluen.

"Arald?" I started hesistantly

"Stephen, call me Dad," was the reply I received.

Before I could stop myself, my anger started to boil and I snapped. "I will **NOT** call you 'Dad!' You were never a dad in my life. I've only known and seen you as the man on trial years ago!"

His face contorted into something like anger _or_ _evil_. More than evil. If someone had asked me, I would've said I had seen the devil himself!

"Unless, you have **forgotten**, I am the **one thing you have left in your life.** So, if you don't want to go ahead and throw that away like everything else, I suggest you shut your whiney little mouth." Arald's expression showed no pain nor reluctance at the words he had used to confront his son

Passively, I nodded.

_I'll go back to the Ranger,_ I thought_, and once I explain, he'll give me a second chance._ A devious plan formed in my head.

I began cautiously. "Father?" I asked

"What?" His gruff voice showed no love for me.

I refrained from the quite childish phrase, "You got the word!" and continued with my original thought path.

"How about I go back and spy for you?"

Arald snorted in derision "Hah, you, spy? I'd like to see you try. Go ahead."

I nodded curtly, ignoring the mocking tone in his voice, and turned my horse around to ride back to Araluen. Back to my home. My real home.

* * *

-one hour after the tournament-

_I was laughing along with my new friends._

_"And so the other bear said, 'No soap, Radio.'"_

_I burst out laughing, along with the other guys, while one boy around seven or eight with emerald eyes and light brown hair stood, alone among many._

_"I don't get it." He said._

"_Well, wrong answer, boy-o." A guy said, making his eyes widen, and another exclaimed, "You __**DON'T**__ know?"_

_They continued laughing, up to the point where the boy is about to break. A memory flashed through my head._

**"Haha, the brat doesn't get it!"**

**"He's so pathetic!"**

**Laughter. Pain. I was aware of how it felt like, the pain of not being accepted, the pain of being tricked, and the pain of shattered hope.**

_I held up my hand and they all shut up. Well, all except Trevor. He never really caught on. I put my hand on his shoulder._

_"We're just messing with you, okay?" Those same, startling emerald eyes I had noticed earlier looked up at me curiously._

_"Why?"_

_I pulled away for a second out of guilt. "I guess that it's just how I was treated when I was around your age."_

_He nodded in understanding. How can he? Was he put up to the same harsh treatment I was?_

_I held out my hand in greeting. "Stephen Kolson." Kolson was my mom's name. I had it, and would never let go. That was last thing I had of her._

_The understanding was replaced with curiosity. "Aren't you the Baron's son?"_

_I sighed about to explain for probably the hundredth time, when a voice rang out._

_"Jason? Are you there?"_

_He looked around. "Melly?"_

_Melly? What kind of silly, stupid, dimwitted, inconsiderate, du-_

_The insults that sprang to my head immediately died. There, the prettiest girl I had seen in my life. Emerald eyes, but this time,it's paired with ink blank hair._

_"Jason? What are you doing here?"_

_He looked up at what I assumed to be his big sister._

_"I met the champion, Stephen Kolson!" A big grin was on his face._

_"Oh? And where perhaps do you think that champion is now?" His sister pulls up a disbelieving look on here face._

_"Uhm... Right here." I raised my hand meekly as red ran all across my face... Why? I'm the freaking champion, she should be having the red face!_

_"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. Melissa Carter." She stuck out her hand._

_"Stephen Kolson." I shook hers in return_

_She took a brath in surprise "Aren't you-"_

_I forestalled her quickly. "Yes. I don't want anything to do with him."_

_She looked at me. "I see where you're going. I also see you blushing. I might have interest in you, if you don't turn out to be a colossal jerk."_

_"What? I would neve-" I began, but she interrupted_

_"You might. Given time, all the praise is going to go to your head, and you know what that means."_

_I groaned inwardly. Why do the pretty ones always have to be so judging? Well, I mean... You know... Right?_

_"Jason, we're going home." Well, that cut off my train of thought._

_"Okay Melly!"_

_Melissa was walking calmly, while the happy seven/eight year old was hopping every step of the way._

_It took a full minute before I regained my senses._

_"Wow."_

That I remembered as I near Wensley Village.

I heard talk of sorrow, all around town. Well, before they saw me.

_"Wait, is that?"_

_"I thought he was..."_

_"Is it me, or does that guy look like..."_

_"That can't be..."_

I rode on passively, pretending to pay no attention to most. I stop however, at a random pedestrian.

"Excuse me, where can I find Ranger Thomas?" I asked

The man stopped then stared at me for a moment. As soon as he understood my question though, he did reply. "My lord, Ranger Thomas is in the infirmary at the Castle."

Wasting no time at all, I yell my thanks, and speed off in the direction of the castle. Nothing like wearing peasant clothes to dissuade suspicion of me.

I am barred by pikemen at the gate. "Halt! State your intentions!"

"I am here to visit a dear old friend in the infirmary." I said

The two guards look at each other, then the one on the right nods. "All right, but make it quick."

I nodded in thanks and left the (stolen) battlehorse at the stables, then I ran up flights of stairs 'til I reach the medical floor. There, I stopped a nurse walking by.

"Where is Ranger Thomas?"

"Over two rooms past, then on your right."

I thanked her, then continued on to see my friend.

Once I got in the room however, I was stopped by a hand.

"Ouch! Who are you, and what do you think you are do-" I snapped even before looking at the person More specifically, their eyes. And guess whose? None other than Ranger Treaty's cold, hard, unforgiving, dark eyes.

"You **STAB** him, and you expect to be let in to see him?" He asked calmly but with anger radiating in every word.

I tried to explain, but it got me nowhere. "I didn't mean to I-"

"You listen now, and listen well. You stabbed your friend. You betrayed him, and betrayed all of us. Give me **ONE** good reason not to stab you in the same place _with a much harder knife._" His eyes burned with anger as he lowered his hand to his side where, I could guess, one of knifes lay, waiting.

"I well... Uhm... I..." I tried to say. Suddenly my instincts took over and I bolted out the door.

_Away from my life. My friend. My home. All that I once held dear. Oh, did I run. I ran, down the stairs, jumped on the horse, and ran. Like the coward I had become_.

* * *

**WILL**

After seeing the boy run, I sighed.

He ran. I composed myself, and went out to the town. I called for a general meeting, and well, it happened. I stood on a platform, and began.

"You all know of Stephen Arald, or as he calls himself, Stephen Kolson."

There were a few mutterings as to what I was bringing up. "I have bad news. He is a traitor." My words caused unease among the crowd. "He had fled with his father, Arald. We have no current ideas about his motive. Please, if you see him, don't try to welcome him back. You may or may not know of my apprentice, Thomas Crosby."

Again, muttered yeses. "He and Stephen were the best of friends, and the only friends they had for years. Now, Thomas is in the infirmary, recovering from a knife wound from none other than his so called 'friend.' That's all for today people."

A young boy tugged on my cloak.

"Ranger sir?" I looked at him. "Did you say Stephen Kolson?"

I nodded, and his face became sad.

"I thought he was a good guy... I thought... I thought he could help me find my sister."

I ruffled his hair, and reassured him, "Don't worry. We'll find her."

* * *

**MAKE SOMETHING AND SOMETHING ELSE HAPPEN!**

Okay God!

**I'm a reviewer...**

But I haven't posted yet...

Dun Dunn Dun.

On a side note, this was hard because... the block.

* * *

**Beta Notes: I didn't get the memory part so I couldn't really fix it properly… Oh the devil part sounds kinda weird to me so I think you should change it to anger or something stronger… Unless you have another reason for that? **

Me:... Woohoo! idea!

**Watch your tenses!**

**Plot wise… This is really good! I can't wait to see where this goes! I feel honored to beta read it!**


	10. Will and Thomas: Names

**I've been pretty bad with updating this. So, for a start, I edited the dream sequence in a previous chapter because it was done horribly.**

**Well, so far, PMing regular users is going well.**

**TO THE GUEST REVIEWER (I can't put an "S" at the end... So. )**

**FarmersDaughter: Yeah, uhm, the whole... Yeah... I'm thinking he's a villain.**

* * *

**WILL**

**PANIC, AND WORRY WAS WRITTEN ALL OVER HIS FACE. **Well, I suppose I should be showing concern, but he was rambling on. I stopped him with a finger to his lips. "What's your name?" I asked, stemming the flow of words.

"J-J-Jason Carter." The boy was trembling now. Either out of normal fear of the Corps, or fear for his sister.

"And how old are you Jason?" I knelt down by the boy, so we could look each other in the face.

"S-s-s-seven." The kid was stuttering on almost every word. Wait. Stuttering. Brown hair. Shy, intelligent eyes. His last name. This can't be a coincidence.

"Can I speak with your Dad?" I asked. The boy seemed a little reassured, though maybe because he had the utmost confidence in his dad when it came to words.

He nodded, then said, "We don't live around here. Our house is by the river." We walked over to the castle, and headed up some stairs to the infirmary, and I went to speak with my apprentice. Well, he wasn't there at the time, but I left him a note. It read

_Thomas,_

_I'm going to do some research on our problem. I'll be back as soon as possible._

_From, Will._

Satisfied with myself, I headed off, to the stables, Jason in tow. It caused a bit of commotion between me and Tug, until I bribed him with some apples to take Jason. After feeding him, we rode to a dear friend of mine, who I had not heard from in years.

* * *

We arrived at the Carter residence soon enough. It was a middle class estate, not exactly a mansion, but not a shack either. I walked up the stone path leading up to it, and knocked on their beige door.

A muffled reply comes out. "Who is it?"

Before I could answer, Jason shouts out, "Daddy!"

The door opens, and Jason is swept up into the arms of my friend.

"Wait. Jason, who's this, and where is your sister?"

Jason looks up at him. "Daddy, I thought you knew who he-"

I pulled off the cowl of my hood. Jason's dad gasped. "Will? What are you doing here?"

I had already stuck out my hand for a handshake before he even finished. "Nice to see you again, George. It's been a long time."

* * *

**THOMAS**

Catherine and I were strolling through the hallways, heading towards Halt's room. Ever since he beat a man for taking his spoon, the Ranger was put in solitary confinement. Of course, as we all know, solitary means alone, so we shouldn't visit him... But hey! We'll figure something out.

A few minutes later, she was arguing with a doctor. "Let me in! I need to see my Grandpa!"

The doctor vehemently replied, "Excuse me, Ms. Treaty, but this man is a maniac!" He held up a bandaged finger. "_This _happened when I tried to get him to eat."

I stared at him. "Do you even _KNOW _who this man is?" I asked.

The doctor looked furious as he glared at me. "Oh, and what do we have here? A brat trying to tell me off? I'll have you know tha-"

He was cut off. "You'll have them know what, Michael?" The voice was familiar, and resounding in authority.

The doctor stopped, and looked. Then, of course, he opened his mouth once more. "Oh, yes indeed, come to need your Mother, ? Can't help yourself, so you have others do it for you?"

Again, someone new came. Metal clinked together as Baron Rodney walked at us. "Michael, do you realize you are yelling at the top officials of the fief?"

The doctor looked in disbelief. "Wait. I can understand Aly-" He was, again, cut off.

"To you, she is Lady Alyss, and you will treat her and her child with respect. Do you not remember who she is married to, and the influence she has?" This was followed by a cough sounding similar to "Horace"

The doctor snorted. "Hah, he left town earlier today." Baron Rodney shook his head sadly, "And you do know who this young fellow is, don't you?"

The doctor looked at Baron Rodney, with an _are-you-seriously-asking-me_ face. Doctor Michael continued, "Well, he's this one's boyfriend." At the words "this one" he gestured to Catherine. Well, this doctor was seriously off.

Rodney looked at him, once more, "You realize he is the apprentice of Ranger Will?"

The doctor scoffed again. "The boy's hardly trained! He could hardly shoot the broad side of a-" At that moment, Alyss nodded to me, and I began.

A kick to the leg can seriously hurt someone. If it is followed by being tackled, and punched repeatedly, well, he could be asking, "Is there a doctor in the house?" After it was all done, we left him with Halt.

Of course, we all parted ways once more, not getting to visit Halt, but feeling pretty satisfied about ourselves. Cath and I went back to my room. She looked at me as I hopped on my bed. "What?" I asked, a little confused.

She shook her head. "It's just that, well, the guy who beat up the doctor is now jumping on beds?"

I grinned. "Well, I can be anything I put my mind to."

"That's a nice motto you've got there."

"Thanks, I got it from the old ward attendant."

"Who was she?"

A scene of images flash through my mind.

* * *

**Eleven years earlier...**

_A woman, short in stature with strawberry blond hair and warm green eyes that seemed to be barely containing the feeling of hope, and yet, anxiety, was going around handing cookies to children. Well, that is, all the children but me. She stared at me, and bustled over handing me two cookies. "Why are you all alone?"_

_I frowned, and sat back down in my corner. "Dey down't wike me." Oh, isn't toddler talk so adorable? Well, at least not when it's not me._

_She crouched down to look me in the eye, and asked, "Why not?" Her eyes showed genuine care._

_I wanted to shrivel back into my corner, and make her go away so that I could wallow in my misery alone, but, I just couldn't. I opened my mouth, once more, and said, "I dunno."_

Eventually, I had one friend, even if it wasn't someone my age. In fact, I'm not really sure why it happened. Some things just do without you ever noticing.

* * *

When I woke up, I was lying down on the bed. "What happened?" I groaned.

Catherine was again, by my bedside. "Well, after I asked you 'Who was she' you blacked out.

"Wait wait wait. How did you know she was a her?"

Cath shrugged. "All ward attendants are women. Now, are you going to answer my question, or not?"

_How did she know all this stuff_, I wondered. "Well, she left a few years ago, so if you want any wise words from her, she's gone."

"Thomas, just give me a name."

"Okay then. Evanlyn."

"What?"

"That was her name. Evanlyn Wheeler."

* * *

Well, we all know what this means. Zombies have come to Araluen.

In all seriousness, I think that we should be able to deduce something from names.

I'm going to ask you guys to review and tell me whether this should be a series, or one story. Oh, and nobody answers polls.

* * *

**Beta Notes:**

**Okay I just fixed some typos and awkward narrations! You're getting better _**


	11. AN

Yeah, legit author's note.

I am formally quitting Fan Fiction, if you didn't already know. I'm stuck on a crossroads in this story, and I'm not a fan of my other one.

Of course, I'm not quitting completely yet. I'm entertaining an udder I've had for several days, if not months now.

So, here's to going out with a bang- and reducing the male population of writers in this uhm, fandom? to possibly zero.


	12. Down for the Count

**Hello. My notifiers aren't working, so I can't keep up as well as I thought I could. Messages work fine, I believe. So, anyone want to tell me any good reads?**

This story is still for adoption, though. Unlimited copies, all that. I just can't leave this alone.

If you choose to adopt, you can ignore any chapters, if they won't fit, or just ignore them.

* * *

**WILL**

**"WHAT DO YOU WANT WILL?"**

Will threw up his arms as if to pacify his friend. "George, can't friends visit each other every once in a while?"

"We haven't spoken ever since your wedding."

"So you should start visiting!"

George sighed, then gestured to his door. "Come on in," he said, "It's probably the last time you'll see the place."

I walked in. "George, this is a nice place. How's work?"

"It's terrible. When farmers get into disputes, they usually settle them with fistfights," he answered, as he walked towards a room that I guessed was his office.

I followed, and he gestured for me to sit down.

"So, how are you doing, Will?"

I held up my hand, "Actually George, I was sort of lying... I need to tell you something."

He threw up his arms, "Of course, the high and mighty only stoop down to the common for business."

I stared at him, jaw dropped and under the earth, and asked, "George, what is wrong with you?"

"Wrong with me? Wrong with me?" His face was red, and his tone was rising, "I'll tell you something Will, when you study all your life, while your friends play around, somehow, SOMEHOW, they end up way above you, and you are stuck, in a DEAD END JOB, two kids to support, and slowly sinking in debt, YOU stay happy!" George got up, and pointed to the door. "I think you need to leave."

I held up my hands, "I just wanted to tell you that your daughter is missing. We think we know who-"

The color in the face of my friend drained. "D-d-did you just say my daughter is missing?"

I took a step back, "Uhm, yes."

"I-I think I need some time to uh, do some stuff. You said you knew who did this?" George was shaking now, his voice quivered with every word.

"Alright, I'll get back to you when we have an update on the situation.

I crept back to the door, shaken by my friend's fury.

I suppose I should start visiting anymore.

* * *

**A MONTH LATER**

**THOMAS**

**"THOMAS! AIM! PULL THE STRING FARTHER BACK... JUST HIT AT LEAST A METER AROUND IT!"**

I was practicing with the bow. Sadly, after a while, I had not gotten my skills back in over a week.

"All right, all right, stop."

Wearily, I lowered the bow. Relief filled my arms. The pain of holding a bow was severely affecting my aim.

Will walked over to me, and looked me in the eye. "What's with you? When you started, you were a natural!"

I looked at him, and hastily excused myself, "Well, uh, it just doesn't feel the same anymore. Before, the action felt so familiar… Now all I feel is a burning sensation when I put up my arms."

He stared at me. "And you choose now, to tell me?"

I waved my arms, "I thought it would wear out! It's like, poison or something."

Will looked at me. "Poison," he said in a monotonous, machine-like way. He stood, motionless for a while, then repeated to himself. "Poison." Eventually, he hit his hand to his face. "Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why hadn't I checked for poison?" He muttered to himself, then looked up at me. "Just, uh practice with your knives. Throw them at the target, please."

The target in mention was a bale of hay, propped up with wood, with red rings painted on it, and a red circle in the center.

I nodded, and my knives leaped out of their sheathes, and thudded themselves in the bullseye.

Will gave a thumbs up, and said, "Alright, you keep doing that while I go inside and do something.

I called out, "Okay," then I threw my knives. I couldn't practice hand to hand combat anymore, as Catherine was in Araluen Fief, honing her skills with Gilan.

SLAM! Another knife hit the tree. The hay bale was now obsolete. I continued to move around throwing knives

I grabbed my saxe, then moved to take the throwing knife, when a voice growled, "Kid's got a knife."

A second voice replied, "Boss-man must've forgotten about the knives."

A third, whispering voice that left no doubts as to who was in charge said, "Shut up knuckleheads! The kid's not deaf."

"No, I'm not. Show yourselves." I said in the most intimidating voice I could muster at the moment.

The commanding voice answered, "Sure thing."

That was when it all went to pieces.

I was looking on the forest floor, while they were up in the trees. At the leader's voice, the men jumped out of the trees and on to the ground. There were only four, but they were armed with an assortment of clubs, swords, and axes.

I looked to the closest one, and rolled so they were all looking at me from one direction (#louis = loo is, not loo E. Louie is french, and that guy is british, right?* **I'm not really a one direction fan though…**). The men grinned, and walked forward.

Mistake one for them.

I took my training into action, and my knife went through a man's head. Now, I was defenseless.

Mistake one for me, and the last.

The men looked at the dead man, then at me, then the man, then they ended up running towards me. The blows rained down, and it all turned to black.

* * *

**Had this in my head for quite a while.**

***argument I had with a girl at school.**

**The bold in the story itself is Savannah's comment,**


End file.
